Greysteel Featured Snapshot | March 2018

Greysteel Featured Snapshot | March 2018

Hours of Work Needed to Pay Rent in the 25 Largest Cities in the United States

How many hours does the average person needs to work in order to afford rent? A recent study by SmartAsset used data from the U.S. Census Bureau's One-Year American Community Survey to calculate the average annual take-home pay, average hours worked per year, and the median rent in the 25 largest cities in the United States.

After accounting for steep tax rates that lowers the average take home pay, California takes the top three spots. A worker in Los Angeles needs to work nearly 89 hours to pay rent, while an employee in Dallas needs to work 24 fewer hours to pay their monthly rent. A worker in Washington, D.C. only needs to work 58 hours to pay rent, benefitting from one of the highest hourly wages in the survey.